Beneath the Surface
by HugglesXKitten
Summary: A family friend's illness forces Sango and her family to move to Shikon, a town which Sango hates. Until she meets InuYasha. But fun is not all that is in store for Sango. With her mothers rapist still free, how can she rest? Pairings: MirSan InuKag AU- Suspended
1. Prelouge

So I decided to try something new. For those who read The Trouble With Love Is, this has just as much romance! Don't worry! This story is more realistic and I have big hopes for it! But I have to warn you: This story does contain the subject of rape. Be prepared.

I hope you like my favorite story yet.

* * *

Prelogue

The lights of the city of Shikon were bright in the dark of midnight. The cheap motels were advertising 'No Vacancy.' The strip clubs were booming, and the streets were no different.

People were kissing.

Others were arguing.

Some were even begging for a couple bucks, so they would not have to go another night without food, or their next fix.

In the middle of it all was a young woman, barely fifteen. She wore an old off-white t-shirt and a mid-lengthed black skirt. Her feet were strapped into little brown sandals. Her light summer coat draped over her shoulders.

The name, Hinata Kikaku.

She was the only child of the owners of a grocery store. Not poor, yet not pampered. Always willing to help out those who needed her.

The face, priceless.

She always had a look of fierce determination on her face, even when she was only picking out icecream flavors. She was pretty, nothing beyond, but when she smiled you just wanted to join in. The game, ordinary. She was just walking home from her friend Izayoi's house. Izayoi was a few years older than her, but it didn't matter. They were always together and told eachother everything.

The change, explosive.

As Hinata walked around the familiar corner that was only five blocks from her home, she began to feel unexplainably uneasy. She glanced around. The area was looking as it always was. She shook her head and continued down the road, willing the feeling to pass. It didn't.

Then it all came together suddenly as he stepped out. He covered her mouth, muffling any of the noises Hinata may have made. He pulled her into the nearest alleyway, holding her so she had no opportunity to break free. As he shoved her up against the wall, Hinata finally realized his intentions.

She held still, knowing that she had a better chance of surviving if she didn't fight him. He may have a weapon, and even if he didn't he could easily overpower her, or even knock her unconcious. She squeezed her eyes shut as he popped the buttons on her blouse with one swift yank. She forced herself to remain still as he pulled her skirt and underwear down to her feet. All she could do was let the tears fall and wait for him to finish.

Then came the pain.

As he entered her virgin body she almost screamed. She would have, had he not been pressing her lips so tightly together that it felt like her teeth were about to break through her flesh. The pain spread like fire, through her entire abdomen. She could think of nothing else.

Trying hard to keep her head clear, she bit her own toungue, and tasted warm salty blood. Her attacker grunted and grabbed her breasts as he thrusted, over and over again. There was a wet warmth trickling down her legs and Hinata knew that it was more blood.

It went on and on. Just as Hinata felt she was about to lose conciousness, she was tossed to the ground. She heard frenzied footsteps getting quieter as her assailant fled the scene, leaving her for dead. Death? Was it really so close? That is what would happen if she didn't get to the main street. Hinata knew that she was too weak to stand, and the pain burned even more intensely when she tried, but her life depended on her getting out of the alley.

How she made it to help, she would never remember. All that she would remember was someone screaming for help. Then she was rushed to the hospital.


	2. Chapter 1: Awakening

So, like it so far? I am thinking of turning it into a Novel! More detail of course! What do you think? Review!

* * *

Chapter 1

17 years later... Eastern part of Falom...

"Gran, Gramps, I'm home!" yelled Sango as she threw open the door to her familys suburban home. Both of her grandparents looked up as their grandaughter, dressed in jeans and an old hockey jersey that she had owned for years, bounded into the living room. Her hair, which reached almost to her rear, trailed behind her in a loose ponytail. Her brown eyes sparkling. Her impish face was bright with excitement. She ran up and kissed each of them on their weathered cheeks before plopping herself onto the floor and crossing her legs.

"How was school dear? asked her Grandmother Alice. Sango's eyes lit up.

"I aced my Psychology exam!" She leaned forward impatiently. "I scored the winning goal in soccer, and Kuronoske Takeda asked me out! I am so excited about the summer!" Her granparents frowned slightly, but Sango was so wrapped up in her plans that she didn't notice. "I was wondering if we could go to the lake? Oh, and camping! Or, can we go see a Football game"

She looked up, since she had no more to say, and apparently didn't see the reaction she had expected. Her face fell.

"What's wrong!?" She exclaimed. "Did Grandpa Keitaro' test come back? Is he sick!?" The old man shook his head.

"No Sango," he replied, watching as the colour came back into her cheeks, wishing that he didn't have to be the one to deliver the news, "but we do need to talk"

Sango tilted her head. This was making little sense to her.

"Okay. What about?"

"We're moving."

Sango felt the earth crash out from beneath her. Moving? When she was just finnishing grade eleven and finally had the makings of a first boyfriend? How could this happen!? What had she done to deserve this?

She licked her dry lips. "Why?" She was in shock. Her grandparents gave eachother a quick glance before anyone said anything.

"A family friend has fallen ill" Grandma Alice explained patiently. "She is not able to work and we decided to help. Even with medicare and all of these special services nowadays, medical bills aren't cheap."

Sango frowned, her eyes narrowing.

"Doesn't she have her own family?" As soon as the question escaped her lips, Sango was overcome with guilt. She was being selfish and she knew it. Her grandparents never asked her to do anything. They didn't even ask her to do any chores, like many of her friends parents did. The least she could do was be good about this, even if it ruinedher life, which it most definately would.

Grandpa Keitaro cleared his throat.

"Yes. She has a husband, a step-son, and her own son InuYasha. Her husband already works full time, his son Sesshomaru is away at some college over seas, and InuYasha has high-school. They really could use all the help they can get."

Sango nodded. She decided that she would do all that she could to try and make this as easy for the two people that she loved the most. They took care of her. They fed her. They loved her. She could do this one thing for them, couldn't she? Or couldn't she?

Sighing, then forcing a smile she asked, "When do we leave?"

There was a pregnant pause. Sango looked down at her nails, pretending to check for chips in the black polish, but she was really waiting for the vedict. It seemed like forever before Alice answered.

"As soon as possible," she said, "so you should start packing your stuff up soon." Sango drew a quick breath. That was hardly time at all. Of course. She nodded, then turned and ran up the stairs, fighting back tears. It just wasn't fair!

Alice and Keitaro Kikaku stared after their teenaged granddaughter. She had just began to get a bit more restless lately, and now there was talk of boys. How time flies. Next thing they knew she'd be wanting to go to parties and get a tatoo.

They looked at eachother. She had taken it better than they had expected. Now they could only hope that she wouldn't get too upset when she realized where they were going.

Alice stood.

"I'm going to start packing up our things, as well. We will have to hurry things up if we want to be any help at all, and we don't want to give Sango time to change her mind"

Keitaro agreed and they both went to their room.

* * *

As soon as possible turned out to be in a week. The week in question was filled with a lot of frenzied packing and last minute arrangements. It was emotionally, physically, and psychologically tiring. Sango didn't want it to end. She didn't want to have to say 'goodbye' to the place that she had grown up. She didn't want to give up her friends, her boyfriend- who had promised to visit her as soon as he got a car-, or her sports teams.

She felt her eyes water. This was her last night at home. It was depressing. Considering that she had been waiting for Kuronoske to ask her out for six months, the fact that tonight was going to be her last night living close to him made her want to scream. She groaned.

Besides, she had been to the place they were moving before. It was a small town. A few hours away. Not normal driving distance. They had gone there for a few days the summer when she was ten. She figured that was where this 'family friend' lived.

It was the town where Keitaro and Alice Kikaku had grown up, lived, met and fell in love. The product of that love- her mother. It was also the town which had ruined her mother.

"Stupid family friend," she muttered darkly before closing the last box.

* * *

Sango sat in the back seat of her granfathers car, watching dejectedly as the movers packed boxes into their truck. She slouched stubbornly, pushing her headphones deeper nto her ears and turned on her Ipod. She blasted 'Love Me Tender' loud enough to make her ears hurt.

She didn't know how long it was until her grandparents got into the car, but when Keitaro sent her a cautious smile, she just turned and stared out the window.

Then they were off. Driving down familiar streets and passing buildings which held great memories, until they were out of town. Seven years ago. It was a city, a days drive away. She snorted and took in the passing scenery.

Gradually, one tree began to blur into another, and one field became the next, until Sango gave up, and closed her eyes. She did not wake up until they arrived.


	3. Chapter 2: Meeting

**New Chappie- Chapter 2**

Unpacking was even worse than packing.

When Sango pulled her possessions out of the boxes, she imagined it's place in her old room.

The house was nice enough. It was old, but sturdy. It smelled as it had seven years ago. Slightly musty, but not to an unpleasent degree. There were three floors., the basement, the mainfloor, and the top floor where all of the bedrooms were. There were two.

One which was big and blue, and filled with her grandparents things, was he room where her grandfather had proposed, where the two had spent their wedding night, and it was the room where her mother had been born. Sango had known all of this since she could remember, yet she still paused every time that she passed by, to run her fingers over the weathered old wood of the doorframe. Such a history for such a small piece of the world.

The new room she was currently in was pink. The walls, the carpet, the bedding- they were all pink. This was something she had found perfect when she was ten, but now, at the age of seventeen it seemed a bit juvenile. The bedding was frilly, the pillow cases lacey, and the whole room smelled of potpourri.

Sango inhaled a deep, uneven breath. Before she knew it, the smell of the dried flowers and spices caused a handful of memories to move to the front of her mind. Like running through a park on a rainy night, so many years ago.

She had met a boy then. She couldn't remember his face. All she could see were over-sized yellow rain boots.

Or the man who had watched her from his window as she walked past in one of her favorite pink sundresses the next morning.

The last time she had been in this town she had been oggled and observed, like an animal at the zoo. In a town as small as _Shikon_ everyone knew our story, and in her case it wasn't a happy one. Or one you wished for others to know.

Sango jerked herself back to reality. Her slender hand wrapped around that small heart-shaped crystal potpourri dish and she walked to the bedroom window, tossing the dried flowers onto the front lawn. She set the crystalline object on the sil and pulled the curtains half-way closed. She turned and left the room, silently pulling the door shut behind her. The hallway was bright with sunlight as she walked down to the edge of the house, then continued down to the front door. Her footsteps made barely a sound on the linoleum. She sat on the bottom stair, tugged on her tied shoes, turned the knob and bolted out the front door as fast as her legs would go. Once she got to the end of the sidewalk Sango slowed to a walk.

This town, these streets, they were so foreign to her that just being there made her anxious.

_"I gave a letter to the postman..."_

Sango's head whipped around. The words were familiar. The song was one she had heard playing from her own stereo many a time. The lyrics lifted her up and she felt the first inkling of hope that- maybe, just maybe- she may find a friend here.

_"Return to sender, address unknown..."_

She did a full about-face towards her left where the music was the loudest. It seemed to be coming from an open garage. Step after step the music got louder, and her smile widened. She had never thought that she would hear anyone else playing her favorite music after the move. No one but her friends from school, or their grandparents listened to Elvis. Her friends only did so to keep her from throwing a little fit.

"Hey, you look lost!"

The voice belonged to a young man with golden eyes like she'd never seen before. His hair was long, far past his shoulders and he had a red bandana tied around his head. His chest and arms were bare and Sango noticed that he was toned. She watched him move an oily rag in his hands. He tossed it nimbly from left to right, and back again to the rhythm of the music.

"Oh," his voice was mildly surprised, "you must be Sango Kikaku!"

Sango's eyes fell to the cement. She had just realized that she was staring.

"Yes, I am." She was trying to sound un-interested in the fact that this stranger knew who she was. "Who are you?"

The boy tossed the rag down onto the ground and dissapeared into the garage. Seconds later, the music stopped and he poked his head out from the red Nissan Versa sitting in the garage with it's hood open. Why she hadn't noticed the vehicle before was obvious. Golden eyes were very distracting.

"I'm InuYasha Nishida" he answered with a smile. "Your grandparents are my godparents. Your mother," a sharp pain cut through Sango's heart, " was my mothers best friend." His head drew back behind the car.

Sango felt as if there was a rock in the pit of her stomach. The first person whom she thought mght actually become someone who she could call her friend, just happened to be one of the reasons that she had moved in the first place. _Was it destiny that she be brought down every day?_

Okay, maybe that was a little over- dramatic, but at that moment it sure felt like it was true.

There was a crash as InuYasha slammed the hood shut. Sango followed him with her eyes as he stepped back out of the garage, pressing the button to active the automatic door and wiped his hands on his raggy jeans. Beads of sweat were gathering on his skin and she mentally kicked herself for noticing. It was smoldering outside. His eyes were squinted with the bright sunlight.

" I'll-," Sango made a slight waving movement with her hand and turned to leave.

"Wait."

She glanced over her shoulder. InuYasha had moved over to the front door. His back was against the doorframe. "Do you want to come in?"

The offer was out of the blue, and Sango was suddenly at a loss for words. InuYasha noticed her hesitation and seemed to take it as a 'no'.

"If you don't feel up to it..."

Sango bit her lip.

"Can we listen to Elvis some more? I mean, if that's alright with you."

InuYasha pulled the door open, a pleasant look on his face. He seemed to size her up.

"You like _The King_?"

"Actually, the music is what led me here. I followed it from my house. I wanted to see who in this town would be listening to my favorite music. It totally surprised me to see _you _though."

"Why is that?"

"Honestly? You don't seem the type."

"Well, then." InuYasha opened the front door of the little house and stepped in. "Come on in."

Sango smiled and stepped in. When she saw the condition of the inside of the house she grimaced. Garbage littered the stairs that led upwards to a second floor. The floor beneath her feet could be tile, or hardwood, Sango couldn't be sure. She couldn't see through a layer of dust that didn't even dissapear when she rubbed her foot over it. InuYasha chuckled. He seemed _very _aware of what caused her reaction.

"My mother has been gone for a while. My half-brother Sesshomaru is in a dorm at his college. My Dad works late every night and has barely has enough time to eat before he falls asleep." He ran a hand through his long hair. "_My _only excuse is that I am inept with any kind of cleaning device. I can't even work the vaccuum. Give me a car- I could hot-wire it, but show me a dishwasher and I am clueless. Lets just head that way," he pointed to a room slightly down the little hallway, " to the living room. We can watch tv and hang out."

* * *

"Sango, time for dinner!" called Grandpa Keitaro from his chair at the head of their ancient dinner table.

Alice continued to carry the dishes- which contained either freshly baked bread, steamed carrots, mashed potatos, or baked salmon- and placed them on woolen doileys in the center of the table. The sound of feet racing down the stairs alerted them that Sango was on the way, before she flew into the room and slipped into her chair.

The elderly couple shared a laugh at the difference in her attitude.

"Seems like you've gotten over your rotten mood" Keitaro pointed out as Sango spooned an apple sized glob of mashed potatos onto her plate. His granddaughter looked up with an innocent smile on her face.

He was suddenly weary.

"I thought you were upset about moving here. Have you changed your mind?"

Sango smiled and scooped up a fork full of salmon. She shoved it in her mouth and chewed it slowly.

"I met a friend. He's actually got some class."

"That's great dear!" Alice exclaimed, looking up from her dinner to smile at Sango and exchange a look with her husband. " What's his name? Maybe we know his family."

Sango looked down at her food, stirred it and cleared her throat.

"InuYasha. I met _InuYasha_, and you were right. We _did _get along. He was polite, and pleasant to be around, _and _he listens to Elvis."

The grandparents smiled at eachother.

"He said that I could go over every day before school starts, and watch him work on his car." Sango made sure to keep her voice light and hopeful. "I told him that I would ask you, but you would probably say 'yes' because you are the best grandparents in the whole wide world." She paused for a second before launching into her argument. " There are only two months until the end of the summer. Who knows, he might be something that will help me enjoy living in this little town. Maybe I won't be so reluctant to try to make the best of this. Do you think that it would be okay?"

Keitaro took one look at the big puppy pout on Sango's face and caved instantly.

"I don't see a problem with that. Do you dear?"

He turned to Alice. She shook her head gently.

"InuYasha is a good boy. You could use a new friend, and in my eyes he would be the perfect choice. You should ask him to introduce you to some other people around town."

Sango raised a fist into the air in victory, with a cheer. She settled her fork down onto her empty dinner plate and stood up, almost knocking her chair in the process.

"Thank you for dinner! May I be excused!"

She didn't even wait for an answer. She just bolted excitedly up the stairs.

Keitaro lifted his hands to his face and rubbed his tired eyes.

"That girl hops around like a jackrabbit," muttered Alice. "I hope she slows down soon, or else we're going to lose her. I am definately not ready for her to grow up yet. I know it's going to happen sooner or later, but I just want her here with us a little longer."

Keitaro took his wife's hand and squeezed it gently.

" I know how you feel, dear. I feel the same way. It's frightening to think that Sango will eventually leave us."

" She's practically a woman Keitaro, and I am not sure if she's ready for the outside world. I mean, after what happened to Hinata," Alice let that sentance drift on the air. There was no need for her to finnish it. They both knew.

" Sango's smart."

"So was Hinata."

An awkward silence ensued. The elderly couple stared at eachother. Sadness on each face. Keitaro was the one who spoke first.

" I am not ready for Sango to leave yet either, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Sound good?"

"Agreed."

* * *

Right when Sango got upstairs she dug through her boxes to find her laptop. She couldn't quite remember if it was in the box with her electronics, or the box which was filled with papers, pencils, anything that had been on her desk before she left. Box after box, it seemed a fruitless search. Eventually, she found her trusty HP in the box that held the majority of her clothes. Why it was there eluded even she who had packed it away.

Once she found the personal computer, she tucked it underneath her arm. Glancing at her digital alarm clock, which she had received last Christmas.

"Only seven!" She sighed. "Grandpa K and Grandma Alice don't even go to bed until nine! Ugh..." The noise was a cross between a grunt and a groan. "I've got to get out of here..."

When she and InuYasha had been sitting in his basement- which remarkably, was clean- eating _Cheeto's_ and watching _'Days of our Lives'_, InuYasha had looked over at her and given her a strange look.

"Alice tells me that you hate being here." His eyebrows rose a centimeter. " Is it true?"

Sango had turned towards him.

"I thought I did. Now it's better, though. I realized that it's not too bad." She had found herself rubbing her shoulder self- conciously. "It _definately _has nothing to do with _you_."

Sarcasm noted, the conersation continued.

InuYahsa leaned back into the polyester couch and stretched. He had pulled on a dark grey muscle shirt, which he had found n the floor before they had left the living room. To Sangos eyes it was a size too big, but InuYasha didn't seem to notice, or care. He turned his head towards her.

" Do you like sports?" he questioned.

Sango blinked, looking blank, before answering.

"Heck yes."

"Good, because a bunch of people from the school are get together to play soccer every once in a while. Our school doesn't really have the budget for a team, but the basketball coach comes and he referees for us. We are having a game next week, Wednesday. You'd better be there."

A yawn just barely escaped Sangos lips.

"Why is that?"

Not that she had anything planned. Or she hadn't been rocking the soccer field all season. Back home.

"Well, you'll be able to meet a few of the people from around here." InuYasha stretched. "I'll introduce you to my friends. Plus, come on, it's _soccer_."

"Fine. If I really need to be there. I guess I can make adjustments to my schedual."

"Good. then you can come back here later and help me make flyers to pass out to the houses of some of the students. They'll pass them around for us."

That was how it had gone down. InuYasha was expecting her over tonight, but she didn't want to tell her grandparents. She did not want them thinking that she was already comfortable in this house. There was _no _way she could tell them that she was already feeling a connection to InuYasha. She knew that her grandfather would think it was more than what it was.

Grandma Alice would unevidably add a few paragraphs about how she was growing so fast, and she'd be married with three children, living half- way across the world in no time. Just thinking about it made Sango cringe. Those conversations were definately not needed now, or in the emidiate future. Especially since her boyfriend was hours away, not mere minutes.

No. She would not think about Kuronoske. That would only lead to more self- pity.

As she pondered her current situation she came to the realization that there was a simple solution.

She locked her bedroom door and slid her window open. She held tight to the sil and slid out onto the roof, like she had that one night seven years ago. She slowly shimmied down the shingles to the edge of the old building. Calculating that the best way not to be caught, she lowered herself down, holding tight to the roof.

Her feet touched the carved granite bench that her mother had apparently won at a school auction when she was in eighth grade. She released her hold on the roof and scampered down the block to meet InuYasha.


	4. Chapter 3: Playing

**New Chappie- Chapter**

_Ring. Ring. Ring._

"Hello?"

"Hi Alice. Is Sango there?"

It was InuYasha. He had been calling everyday for the last five days. Sango could rarely be seen around the house lately, but it seemed like she had totally forgotton her anger. The atmosphere of the house was much more calm and easy to live with. Alice smiled.

" Oh, I'm sorry InuYasha. She actually just left for your house. She should be there soon."

"Thank you ma'am. I bet that's her at the door, then! Goodbye!" He hung up without another word. Alice returned the phone to its cradle and looked at Keitaro with raised eyebrows. She turned, picked up the duster she had been using and resumed her cleaning.

She was keeping herself busy. To be sure, she was missing Sango. She missed their talks, their mini shopping sprees at the shopping mall, and playing Scrabble on Sunday nights.

"It seems like she's with him every second of every day" Keitaro mumbled. "She could stay home for a while. Help around the house. Spend some time with us. We are her family."

Alice hugged him. She was slightly cheered by the fact that she wasn't the only one feeling left out.

"Leave her alone, darling" she whispered. "We know that InuYasha is a good child. Since she has known him, he has made Sango enjoy living in Shikon. It can't hurt anything, letting them be friends. Don't worry about it so much."

Keitero squinted his eyes.

"I still don't like it. What if they-"

Alice laughed and bonked him on the head.

"Don't you dare say it. Sango's a good girl. She won't give in that easily. I can't believe you would even think something like that. Besides, I hear that Chika Higurashi's daughter Kagome's got her eyes, and heart set on InuYasha. Calm down."

Then she let go of him and left to clean the rest of the house, leaving a brooding Keitaro Kikaku behind.

* * *

"It's this way," InuYasha said ,"not too far now."

InuYasha was leading Sango to the field where the soccer game would take place. They had walked the four blocks to the supermarket that had formerly been owned by the elder Kikaku's, then turned left at the corner and walked two more blocks. One good thing about this town. If you had somewhere to go, it was always within walking distance. The walk could be up to two hours, but you could get there without putting mileage onto your car. Most people did just that.

You could always spot people walking. Even in the wee hours of the morning.

"Are we almost there InuYasha? I really want to play ball."

InuYasha chuckled and pointed to what looked like a small patch of grass that Sango had mistaken for an extension of the boulevard. Boy did it look small.

"That's it?" she whined.

InuYasha laughed quietly. Sango looked at him, slightly dissapoined. He had made it seem that today would be perfect.

"Don't dis it until we get there. I'll admit it does look a little," he searched for the right word.

"Crappy?"

"Yeah, it isn't though. Trust me."

As they got closer Sango was beginning to see what InuYasha had meant. The closer they got, the bigger the field looked. When they got there it was as big as the field where her soccer team used to practice for games. It was wide and the grass was green and looked freshly cut. There were no weeds or brown spots of grass to be seen. It was a shame they didn't have the budget for a team.

"Holy crap, this is beautiful!" Sango exclaimed.

She lunged forward and turned, plopping on to her bottom. Then she let herself fall backwards onto the earth. InuYasha lowered himself down beside her.

"No one's here. Not even Coach Takeuchi."

"Point out the obvious much?"

A slight wind had been blowing all day. Moving the trees, flowers, and the mail of some of the residents downtown. It suddenly picked up and blew the hair of the un-suspecting duo into tangles. Sango laughed and used her hands to hold her long, naturally auburn hair flat to her head as she watched InuYasha struggle to keep his own long mane from being messed beyond the point of a quick fix.

"You look like you need an hour, a double-sided brush, and a mirror," Sango remarked with a giggle.

InuYasha feigned a glare and began to mimic Sango, who was combing through her long silky strands with her fingers. When it seemed as if most of the tangles had been freed, Sango sat up.

"So, explain to me the people I am about to meet. Nothing too descriptive. Leave something for my imagination."

Her voice was nonchalant, but she was interested. InuYasha shrugged.

"The coach's son will most definately be here. He's a good guy. We've known each other since we were two and a half." He looked at the sunny sky and smiled. "Kagome will be here for sure. She is the other one in our trio."

"Trio?"

"Yeah. The three of us are always hanging out. We've been friends forever."

"Oh." Sango tried not to let jealousy into her voice. What right did she have to be jealous of these two people who had known InuYasha much longer than she had. She had known him for what? A week.

It wasn't fair to hold it against him that they were old friends, when she knew her jealousy really had nothing to do with InuYasha. It stemmed from herself leaving her own best friend behind.

Her name was Yuna Tang. Bright green eyes, reddish-blonde dyed hair, a thousand watt smile. Everything about her attracted people. She had always had more boys lined up than you could count, but never dated. She said she had no time for a boyfriend when Sango was such a tomboy already.

The two were always together, or if not together, five minutes away.

Yuna knew everything about her. Even about her mother.

Yuna had helped her through many things, and now the closest they could get was a phone call.

"The people who called were Ayame Mima and Koga Okawa. Ayame is quite nice. She's the daughter one of the town council members. Koga is an idiot, but he still managed to get himself a couple followers. Their names are Hikaku and Ginta. They are brothers, and quite friendly. I don't see what they see in Koga, at all.

"I am just guessing from experience, but I think that Kikyo, Koharu and Rin will be there. They are the 'popular' girls in our school. The three of them are big into fashion and all that jazz."

A sudden sneer passed over his lips.

"Then there's Naraku."

Sango stretched her legs out in front of her as far as she could.

"By the way you say his name, it seems like you don't like this Naraku guy."

"Is it that obvious?"

"That look you had on your face was scary."

"What? Me, scary?" He gave a goofy grin. "No way."

Sango reached out and patted him gently on the head.

"No worries. Keep on talking."

"Ahh!"

InuYasha ducked out from under her hand. To retaliate he poked her in the side, making her flinch.

"Don't do that!"

InuYasha bit back a laugh.

"You deserved it."

"How did I deserve being stabbed in the side?"

Now InuYasha couldn't help himself. He let out a peal of laughter.

"Stabbed!"

"Yes! Viciously!"

"Okay, whatever Sango. You deserved it, for treating me like a dog."

Sango ignored that one, sighing and leaning backwards onto her elbows. She stared up at the clouds. Spying one which, in fact, resembled an ice cream cone.

Great. Now she wanted ice cream.

"What about these friends of yours? Kagome and..?"

"Kagome and Miroku?" Philip scratched his head. "What about them?"

Sango's face flushed slightly. In all honesty she was nervous. It embarrassed her to think that InuYasha might notice. She coughed to clear her throat.

"Do you think they'll," she hesitated, wondering how to word her question, "well, will they like me?"

InuYasha turned his eyes on her. She would not look at him. He stretched and turned his face upward, feeling the warm sun on his face.

"I'm sure they will."

A huge weight was lifted from Sango's had been worrying about today all week. Will they like me? She had asked herself until she was blue in the face. Now she felt reassured.

She grinned and plopped back onto the soft grass. It smelled fresh and dewy being so close to the Earth. It was energizing and refreshing.

A blaring car horn sounded and Sango whipped her head around to find accident. There wasn't one.

When she looked back, InuYasha was standing with a smile on his face, waving at something off in the distance. She followed his eyes and noticed a group of people headed their way.

"Hey! Hurry up!" InuYasha yelled.

Sango turned towards him. His smile at the moment was the brightest she had ever seen. She let her gaze wander back to the approaching group of people, two of whom were fairly ahead of the rest.

One was a slender girl with gray eyes and long, lustrous raven hair. She was wearing a jersy, which was almost identical to the one that Sango now wore, except it was brand new, not old and raggedy. Her shorts were also more stylish than the baggy cutoffs Sango had pulled on that morning.

Kagome.

The other was a tall male. Scruffy, medium lengthed black hair. The bluest eyes Sango had ever seen. Definately attractive. He was wearing a tight navy t-shirt with his baggy black shorts. He looked like he had walked right out of a sports magazine. One of the good ones.

Sango guessed, by his position next to the girl, that if she was Kagome he was Miroku.

"Oooph."

Sango turned and glared at InuYasha who had just delivered a swift elbow to her ribs.

"What was that for!" Her voice was low.

InuYahsa smiled amusedly.

"Stop staring" he said.

Sango's eyes widened and a hot blush spread over her cheeks.

"I am not staring."

"Are too. You told me that you have a boyfriend."

"I-"

She willed a snappy comeback to pop into her head. None did. All she could think of was the all popular 'shut up', but knew it would make her look like an idiot, so she held her tongue.

Sango looked looked back towards the on-coming group. The two in front were no longer across the field. They were about five steps away.

The girl stopped in front of InuYasha, smiling magnificently.

"Hey Inu!"

She sat down, paying Sango no mind. The guy, on the other hand, looked right down at her.

Sango pretended not to notice, but it was hard with him staring at her like that. It was unnerving.

"Sango, this is Kagome Higurashi." InuYasha gestured towards the girl to his left. He put a hand on top of her head and Sango noticed the way Kagome's eyes lit up at the slightest touch. This was the first indication of the girls true feelings that Sango noticed and she smiled.

"Nice to meet you."

"And this," InuYasha thumped blue eyes on the back, "is Miroku Takeuchi."

"Hey," she turned her body towards the beautiful girl next to her, "I'm Sango Kikaku. I hope we can be friends."

Kagome finally turned to her and smiled. "Welcome to Shikon." Kagome tilted her head to one side. "Inu told us about you the other day. Where did you move from?"

Inu?

"Oh, I moved from Falom. It's hours away from here."

She sighed and folded her hands in her lap. Thinking of home was dampening her spirits. Though they had just met Kagome picked up on her mood and patted her on the back.

"You must miss your friends."

Inwardly, Sango agreed with the comment. Outwardly, she shrugged slightly. Playing it cool was her strategy, and it seemed to work. She did miss her friends back home, terribly, but she wouldn't show it. Her homesickness was nothing for the town of Shikon to worry about. Kagome continued.

"We'll have to take you out on the town, InuYasha and I." She clicked her tongue a couple times and pointed at Blue Eyes. "Miroku can't. He has an appointment tonight, but it would still be fun. How about it?"

It was an attempt to take her mind off of her worries. It worked and Sango was thankful for the offer to get out of the house, with someone other than InuYasha.

She eyed Mr. Good Lookin' for a second, wondering what kind of appointment he would have and if it had a name. She mentally kicked herself. She had a boyfriend. A perfectly good one at that.

Miroku's eyes met hers for a second and she immidiately turned away.

"I'd like that."

"Nishida!"

All of a sudden a blur flew past, just inches away from Sango's nose. It bounced off the ground, rebounded and hit her in the back of the head. Seconds later it rolled away.

A soccer ball.

"Koga, you idiot! I know that you're stupid, but be careful. You really could have hurt someone with that lame stunt, and then where would we be?"

InuYasha's voice had the tone of a parent scolding a small child. Or an incompetent youth. Sango looked up and saw a muscular boy with a long brown pony-tail, in nothing but shorts. He had beady little eyes, and there were two other, much scrawnier guys behind him. They must be Hikaku and Ginta. The followers.

One had a mohawk and a look of juvenile innocence. He stood with his hands linked behind his back, and a duffelbag slung over his shoulder.

The other had silver hair, though he was young. He had a different style than his brother.

The rest of the group had finally arrived. Sango also noticed that Miroku was no longer staring at her. Thank God.

"Shut up, shit for breath," said Muscle Man Okaku, running a hand through his long brown hair, "I wouldn't have hit anybody. Unlike you, I have skill. I knew exactly where I wanted the ball, and that's where it went."

Sango rolled her eyes skyward and stood up. She stepped towards the monsterous male and glared up at him.

"So, you're telling me that you wanted to practically kill me? Mhmm, sounds like you've got a lot skill alright. Skill in being all talk and no brains."

Koga's eyebrows shot up as he looked down at this strange girl who was half his size.

"Who the hell are you?"

"I'm the one who's going to cream you on the soccer field."

Koga was not the only one to look taken back. Everyone wondered if this little girl from another town could really be as good as she seemed to think she was.

After recovering from his shock, Koga sneered.

"Oh, yeah?" He crossed his arms over his chest. "Proove it princess."

With that said, he turned to his buddies and grinned. His overconfidence was mirrored in his actions.

"Fine."

Sango ran and grabbed the soccer ball. In one strangely elegant movement she tossed the ball into the air. Everyone watched as it arced and fell back towards the ground.

Sango's body tensed. To the others she was cool and calm, but on the inside her mind was reeling. Thinking of every possible outcome of this situation.

Once the ball was in reach she raised her leg, straightening it, leaning backwards and kicking the ball. A couple of people gasped as the ball hit it's mark. Right in the back of Koga's head.

Everyone laughed.

Everyone except Koga. He turned bright red.

Sango grinned and turned to survey the rest of the group, which, suprisingly was all females.

There was a tall red-head with vibrant green eyes. She was gazing at Koga with a slightly wistful look in her eyes.

Next to her a trio of darh haired beauties stood. Matching pink tanktops, short shorts, manicured fingernails, adidas runners. These must be the fashionable girls InuYasha had mentioned earlier. Their attitudes and the way that they carried themselves surely screamed 'popular'. Two wore wore their hair in pigtails. The other, who had a single ponytail, stood out and must be the leader of the pack. She definately was one of the most beautiful girls Sango had ever seen in her life. Her looks rivaled those of Yuna. Still, there was unpleasant about her.

Last but not least, as she looked beyond the girls, Sango noticed a balding man with a beer belly and a smushed face. Being the only adult on the field made the only choice for his identity- the coach.

It was a shock. She had expected a tall, dark and handsome man with silver hair. A grown up, adult version of his son.

One look would tell you that resemblance obviously did not run in the Takeuchi men, until the coach turned his brilliant blue eyes on her. Other than that there was nothing. It must be true what they say. Boys really do look like their mothers.

"Hello," a sugary-sweet voice chirped right in her left ear ,"You must be Sango Kikaku."

The voice belonged to one of the Barbies in pig tails. This one had a birthmark just under her bottom lip. She wore enough makeup for a man playing a woman in one of William Shakepear's plays.

Again, Sango was hit with an unnerving sense of uneasiness. These three girls all had a strange look of haughty politeness. They all seemed so fake that she almost shivered.

She would not be hanging around these girls often. That was, if she could help it.

"My name's Koharu. I heard that you just moved here not too long ago, and was looking forward to meeting you."

As if. She should try that with a little genuine feelings in her voice next time.

"Thanks."

Only one remained. A somber, greasy youth with bland brown eyes and crooked teeth. Dressed in black sweats, he looked sickly pale. He had limp, long, damaged, wavy brown hair.

As if sensing her eyes he turned. Their eyes met and Sango felt her skin crawl.

InuYasha had been right. There was definitely something creepy about Naraku.

"Everyone, come on over here, or this game will never get started!"

The coach was over by the nearest goalpost. The ball that she had kicked at Koga was in his hands. Everyone began to walk over.

InuYasha, who was pulling Kagome by the hand, tapped Sango on the shoulder.

"That was a smoothe one." A big grin spread across his lips. "I wish I could have seen that cocky bastards face-"

"Watch your mouth Inu" scolded Kagome. "You don't have to be rude."

"Sorry," he smiled back at her, "but you have to admit that it was an amazing shot."

An arm slipped around her waist and Sango whipped around.

"It was. An amazing shot by an amazing girl."

InuYasha rolled his eyes.

"Don't be an idiot Miroku. She could kick your ass!"

Sango could breathe once again as Miroku's arm released her and he smiled, showing off a row of perfect teeth.

Kagome raised a fist threateningly, a frown on her pretty face.

"Stop it with the swearing or I swear I'll-"

"Okay, sorry, sorry."

"You had better be. Besides, quit being so paranoid. Sango has apparently been able to take care of herself, without your help, for years."

InuYasha puzzled, but Sango nodded.

The girl obviously didn't like InuYasha protecting her, and that was fine with Sango. She didn't need a guardian, a protector, or someone to tell people off for her. She was strong enough to do it all by herself. She could handle guys like Miroku Takeuchi.

She had succeed so far, hadn't she?

"Let us begin" instructed Coach Takeuchi as they all gathered around him. "Boys are skins. Girls are shirts. Girls stay here, boys head out to the other side of the field. Remember, speed, flexibility and strategy are all key parts of winning a soccer game!"

Sango and Kagome stood together at the goal post, trying not to look out at the other side of the field. With an obvious reason. They knew that the the boys were probably stripping off their shirts.

Sango noticed Kagome's eyes raise and gaze out over the field, and she had the striking suspicion that they were seeking out InuYasha.

It seemed that Kagome had a thing for her friend. Since InuYasha was male, he was obviously oblivious.

The shrill blast of a whistle woke Sango from her silent reverie. The ball was tossed onto the field and chaos ensued. Everyone ran. Miroku arrived first. In one fluid movement the ball was flying over heads, towards the girls goalpost.

"He's pretty good," Sango mumbled to herself, watching many bodies sprint towards the airborne ball before joining in on the game.


End file.
